Disappointment at lack of EC action to resolve milk producers’ crisis

THE umbrella bodies for European farmers and co-ops, said it was disappointed the European Commission had failed at a special informal meeting in Brussels this week to propose further action to help solve the crisis facing milk producers.

Copa-Cogeca, however, welcomed the commission’s initiative to launch a debate on the future of the EU dairy sector.

Irish Farmers Association leader Padraig Walshe, the current Copa president, said farmers are furious.

“Never before was any sector of agriculture so badly affected. Farmers are going broke. The European Commission and ministers cannot stand idly by.

“At times like this, when you have extreme volatility and prices crashed to the floor, you need intervention and export refunds,” he said.

Mr Walshe urged ministers to rapidly agree strong market measures, at their next meeting, especially in public intervention and in export refunds on dairy produce.

“Without any further action, dairy farmers will lose over €14 billion in turnover before the end of the year. I also want to ensure that the market is properly regulated, to reduce retailers excessive powers, and that imports to the EU respect the same standards that EU producers have to face,” he said.

Mr Walshe said EU farm incomes dropped by 3.7% last year and the mass exodus of farmers from the sector is continuing at an alarming rate.

“Farmers simply cannot take another sharp cut in their incomes. A price increase is consequently vital in order to enable them to survive.

“In order to achieve this, Copa-Cogeca is calling for strong market measures to be applied in the short term, especially in public intervention and in export refunds on dairy produce,” he said, stressing that it also wants more measures to be applied to help stimulate demand.

Mr Walshe said in the medium to long term, measures to strengthen the position of co-operatives and producers in the food chain must be developed to help balance out retailers’ monopoly powers.

He said EU Farm ministers must take rapid political decisions to help bring the EU dairy sector out of crisis. Without radical action, more farmers will go out of business and there will be a further exodus from the rural areas of the EU.

“The crisis will also impact on the EU cereals and oilseeds sector by reducing demand for feedstuffs,” he said.

Mr Walshe welcomed EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel’s proposal to launch a debate on the future of the EU dairy sector.

“But I want our experts to be involved in the working group which will be set up to discuss this,” he said.